February 3, 2010

Women’s Basketball Looks to End Ivy Losing Streak

The women’s basketball team will face yet another pair of away games this weekend, as it challenges Yale and Brown on their respective home courts. After tough losses to Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend, the Red is fired up to earn its first Ivy win.

The Red (5-12, 0-4 Ivy) will first face Yale (7-11, 2-2 Ivy) on Friday night, and will follow up with a game against the Bears (5-13, 2-2 Ivy) on Saturday night. Although neither of these teams currently has a winning record, both will still prove challenging opponents for the Red.

“[Yale and Brown] are always aggressive, and they keep games close and competitive,” said head coach Dayna Smith. “We have our work cut out for us, but I think we’ve improved, and we’re looking to get a win.”

When asked about the honor, she replied with humility.

“I was excited to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, but it came by my teammates’ hard work as well,” she said. “Basketball is a team sport … I couldn’t have done it by myself.”Smith hopes that both Fitzpatrick and Flynn will be able to put on similar performances this weekend.

“They’re learning and growing,” she said. “If both of them can repeat last weekend, and our seniors can contribute and play solid games, we should be able to come up with a win.”

However, Yale and Brown also have several talented players that are worthy of praise.

The Bulldogs are led primarily by freshman guard Megan Vasquez, who averages about 11 points per game and recently earned her second Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor. Vasquez’s talents are complemented by those of junior guard Yoyo Greenfield, who also averages in double digits with 10 points per game. All in all, the Bulldogs may prove to be formidable opponents for the Red.

“Yale is very aggressive and scrappy, and it always ends up being a physical game,” Smith said. “They’ve got experience, and they’re a really solid and hardworking team.”

As for the Bears, their leading scorers are sophomore Hannah Passafuime and senior Christina Johnson, who average 9.4 and 8.2 points per game, respectively. Smith described Brown as “a very uptempo team that always mixes it up defensively.”

Although the weekend looks to be another tough one for Cornell, it is highly likely that the Red will emerge with one — or possibly two — Ivy wins. Last weekend’s unfortunate losses have sparked a strong desire to compete and be successful.

“We’re just very hungry to get a win, and we’ll do whatever it takes,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re going to build upon what we learned last week, and just keep doing what we’re good at.”

Vegetarians rejoice! After closing its doors last summer, long-time Collegetown favorite ABC Café has reopened under new management in the old storefront on Stewart Avenue with a new name: the Giving Tree Café.